Impact
by Chrys-DASL
Summary: A large asteroid is headed towards the Earth and is set to make impact in the Atlantic Ocean. How will everyone react in the chaos that ensues? Futurefic. For my new disaster series. R&R
1. Chapter 1

IMPACT

CHAPTER ONE

Brain could hardly believe what he was reading. He'd been following various stargazing blogs online for years, ever since he was in elementary school. He watched as scientists discovered all sorts of new things—stars, planets, even entire galaxies—and they'd even discovered asteroids too. But none of them had ever discovered one that was set to hit Earth within a short frame of time.

He had no time to even register what he'd just read. He looked up from his computer and realized he wasn't reading a blog entry in his childhood bedroom. Instead he was in his cramped office at Elwood City University, where he spent ninety percent of his time now that he was a tenured professor. He was in his mid-forties now teaching various classes for the Physics Department, and he was a very busy man. He looked up and noticed the stack of ungraded tests he needed to plow through before his two p.m. class. It was eleven-thirty now. He had to get to work.

As he pulled out his key (not that he needed it, as he'd given the same test to his students for his previous five years), his phone rang loudly behind him, filling the tiny space with a trilling noise that he absolutely hated.

"Hello?" he asked gruffly, ditching the usual university-ordered greeting.

"Brain, have you been online today?"

Buster. Brain and Buster had remained in contact after high school, during college, and beyond for reasons Brain still didn't understand. Age did nothing to mature Buster. He ran a shop of horrors, in his eyes, a few blocks from Main St. Inside were magic tricks and educational sets, as well as comic books and card games. He'd tried to branch into used video games too but settled for selling the titles online instead.

But they'd remained instead because they'd both been scorned by the same woman and had kids by her, Francine Frensky. She was with some other man now and he was raising their kids, but Brain and Buster still liked to do their Dad Days together to ease the tension, and to help get their children (Annie, aged thirteen, Buster's daughter and Margarete, aged eight, Brain's daughter) work through their mother's lies.

This wasn't a call about Francine though. Brain knew before he even replied:

"No, Buster. Well, I have been, but you'll need to be specific—"

"There's an asteroid heading towards the planet!" Buster exclaimed, his voice nearly a wail, something puberty did nothing to fix. He continued on at a fast pace, "CNN won't shut up about it. The president's plane had to emergency land and _they're still talking about the asteroid!_ Think about that! This thing is three miles wide. Some amateur found it, but NASA is taking this HARD! They say it'll be here tomorrow night!"

"I might've read something about it, but where is 'here'?" Brain asked. That was something he hadn't heard so far, and that was a term he could really use a definition for.

"Atlantic Ocean. If it hits land, we'll all be screwed because of the debris field, loss of life, blah blah blah," Buster said quickly, "but it's hitting the _ocean_ , Brain! A tidal wave is going to sweep over everything, and we're not that far from the coast. You need to get out of town ASAP! If Francine weren't already off in California with the new guy and the kids, I'd be more concerned," Buster said, and Brain realized he could hear him throwing things into bags, not the usual sounds of the shop.

Brain's eyes went wide, "They didn't go with them to California. Catherine offered to take them in so their kids could have a cousin bonding session."

Buster paused as his eyes went wide, "Jersey coast?"

Brain nodded, "Jersey coast."

"My place in ten?"

"Make it five," Brain said, slamming down the phone and running out of the office. He nearly ran headlong into the dean, his intended target, "Dr. Masterson, I have to leave right now!"

"Good, good. I was about to tell you they're evacuating. Classes are cancelled. Are you alright, Dr. Powers?" Dr. Masterson questioned, but he got no response. Brain had already grabbed his coat and briefcase and had pushed past him on his way out of the office.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Brain was surprised people were taking the evacuation seriously. He'd read books about this, fictional of course, after his disasters class in college. He wanted to know what people thought would happen when certain things happened in the world. Whenever something happened that was big, but it was something familiar, people ran like the dickens. Whenever something happened that was big but completely unknown, people tended to ignore instruction. In most of the pieces he read with this sort of impending disaster, people stuck it out, or they went out to buy telescopes so they could see the action themselves.

But that was twenty years ago, back when he was getting his Master's degree and things were still simple. While some technology was still the same (his ice maker at his apartment still clogged in much the same way his parents' did, his computer still slowed right when he went to do something important, and internet news still came from the same sources just on updated browsers with semi-faster speeds), there were improvements in many areas, including in space exploration. Astronauts had finally made it to Mars, and there were satellites orbiting the little red planet as scientists decided whether or not to colonize it. The Moon received similar treatment, and Brain knew from Francine's parenting blog that the girls often watched feeds from both planets' satellites to see what space looked like from a perspective not available during his time.

Because of this better view, scientists discovered "close calls" were more common that we knew during his lifetime. Now that we could see more of our own orbit trail, scientists were able to note about three times as many large, possibly destructive, space rocks hurdling through the area. And Brain knew that now meant that possible collision warnings were heeded because they were no longer guessing—that asteroid was going to hit, and it was probably going to hit the exact second they suggested.

The only thing from his sci-fi books on asteroid collisions that wasn't a thing yet were missiles to blow it up, large ships to push it away, or laser beams that turned the asteroid to dust before it even left the Asteroid Belt. For now those were still science fiction.

But fact was staring Brain in the face. After picking up Buster, they navigated towards the highway only to found their path blocked with other cars. All of them were packed full of items—luggage, pillows, blankets, and one lady whose car swarmed with at least twenty cats. Buster wished aloud for a flying car, and despite Brain's hatred for his stupid suggestions, he wanted the same thing, not that flying cars would help when everyone was on the run.

"What does the GPS say we could do instead? We're heading east instead of west. That could help us," Brain suggested.

Buster picked up his smartphone and looked at his options. He smiled, "Turn right as soon as you can. We'll just use side streets for a while then hit up some state routes until we can hit the highway."

"Sounds good," Brain agreed, eying his chance and flooring it. "We should call Catherine too. Let her know we're coming for the girls."

"Do you think she'll give them to us?" Buster asked. Catherine and Francine were allies as well as sisters, and she hated them both about as much as Francine did. But Catherine had one advantage—she wasn't the one who married people she'd gone to school with, had a kid with them, then kicked them to the curb. That made her a little better than her sister, though she hadn't gone through the court appearances where Francine insisted they each have regular visitations rather than send a check every month.

Brain assured him they had nothing to lose, so Buster placed the call. Catherine picked up on the second ring:

"Why didn't you call me sooner? The girls are demanding we get you in Elwood City then drive to California. I'm doing it, kids and all. We're taking both cars," Catherine said quickly in an angry yet frazzled tone.

Buster chuckled, "We were on our way to get them actually. Where do you want to meet up? We're heading north and east now."

"We'll keep in touch online then," Catherine said firmly, hanging up. Soon they were using an app, and the pairs agreed to meet up in Pennsylvania before heading west, if they could. Traffic was terrible with so many people evacuating at once, and Brain wondered if they should just keep heading north. His passport was still at home, but so was everything else. In their hasty attempt to reunite with their daughters, then men had forgotten nearly everything.

 _Nearly everything_ , Brain thought again, smiling to himself. He did have everything he needed, just not his mail and a change of shoes. He'd recently packed an emergency kit in his car at the insistence of a colleague who had gotten a little too into apocalypse scenarios themselves. Brain had his passport, several days' worth of food (not if you include a tagalong named Buster Baxter), and a few changes of clothes, as well as a few flashlights, some batteries, and a few other items. He had enough.

But Buster didn't have a passport, and he had never gotten one in the first place. Brain forgot he wasn't a college guy. Francine got with him right out of high school in an attempt to make another ex jealous, Arthur Read. Things apparently went well enough that they got engaged, and then Francine dropped the bombshell that sent them straight to the courthouse—she was pregnant. Buster did all the right things, and they stayed together until Annie was two. Then Francine got bored, dumped him, and used her family's help to go back to school.

That's where Brain met her a few years later. He was in grad school by then, but he assisted in undergrad science classes and their labs. He met Francine in one, started having coffee with her, and then she surprised him by turning up the heat. He loved it. He'd had a few other girlfriends and found that side of life—romance, lust, and longing—was actually quite nice. And Francine felt so familiar. He proposed without hesitation, and he hoped things would be perfect, especially when she announced she was pregnant.

They married and moved into a small house, and things were great…until she met the guy she was with now. Brain was getting his PhD now and was already beginning to teach. The university was helping him along, but it was also keeping him from his family, from his wife. She proposed divorce, and he unwillingly went along.

Now he and Buster, who'd started talking when Brain first started seeing Francine, were traveling together to meet up with their daughters with nothing but the clothes on their back. _Men!_ Brain could hear Francine scoff, laughing at their stupidity despite—probably—being out of the loop.

But their kids were their only concern. If it weren't for that undying devotion to their daughters, Francine probably would've left the completely, fought for FULL full custody, and kept her life hidden. Instead they were still allowed in, and they both had to admit that Catherine seemed pretty relieved to get their call.

After a few hours, they met up at a rest stop in Pennsylvania. While the girls went to the restroom with their aunt and cousins, Brain looked up quiet routes into Canada. As he did, he noticed they were allowing in evacuees as long as they went where they were told and stayed there. Brain wondered if the group would agree as Catherine and her barrage of females returned from the restrooms.

"Daddy, there was, like, NO toilet paper!" Annie spat, hugging her father again. She was thirteen and moody, but she had a love for her father that Brain saw in his own daughter, who nodded in agreement with her half-sister as she hugged his waist.

"Any plans, Dr. Powers?" Catherine asked with a hint of disgust. Brain knew then that she and Francine were in contact, and that Francine had ordered her sister to let him take control…as long as he proposed something rational.

"I thought about heading north on our way over. The traffic is easier since most people are heading due west," Brain said, passing his phone to her, "I found this article. As long as we do what they say, it'll be safe for us. We all go to the same spot, stay with each other. I think it's our best option to find proper lodging."

"What about California?!" Annie demanded with a pouty tone.

Buster shook his head, "It'll take a week to drive out there like this. It'd be easier to go to Canada like Brain says, and we won't have to sleep in our cars. The food will probably be better too."

"John?" Catherine called, turning to her husband, who was standing with their only son by their van, "What do you think? Does Canada work for you?"

"No passports needed?" John asked.

Brain shook his head, "It looks like we just need a driver's license, and we can't have any weapons or pets. I think it's a fair enough trade."

"Just make sure he doesn't have fleas or we'll be busted," Catherine said with too much force while gesturing to Buster. She blushed as she noticed her tone and looked down to their daughters, "You guys can ride with them if you want. Margie, get your booster seat. Annie, you get the bags."

The girls agreed to the switch, and Buster helped them as Catherine joined Brain and John at the hood of Brain's car. They wanted to do some final checks to make sure the vehicles could make it as far as they needed.

Catherine looked them over, "Francine is trusting us to keep them safe. She insisted I call you, but I told her to let you call first. I thought you'd at least pack, but I see that didn't actually happen. I know you're being good fathers, but you should try to be a little less impulsive in the future."

Brain used an old Dunkin Donuts napkin from his dash for John to swipe his dipswitch. They had plenty of oil, he nodded, looking up to Catherine, "I have an emergency kit in my car, actually. I even have my passport, some clothes, some food. It's Buster you should lecture, not me. I heard him packing like he was taking the whole apartment, but he only came out with that one bag," he pointed into the backseat, where a Spiderman duffle bag was there, a treat from Metropolis's Comic Con the year before.

Catherine crossed her arms and looked over Brain before her eyes fell on Buster, who was now helping the girls into the backseat of the car. Catherine nodded, "She fucked up when she decided you two weren't worthy. I doubt anyone will make her happy. Ever."

Brain grinned, "I know what you mean by that. This is a divorce trip?" he asked. Catherine nodded. She knew he'd know. Francine did the same to him, took him to Montana to study rocks there before breaking the news. Buster only got as far as Metropolis. Their one and only Comic Con together.

"Well, we can talk about it later when we get there. Are you all gassed up?" John asked. Brain looked to his dash and nodded. His tank was nearly full, and he was glad. It was a long way to Canada and he wanted as few stops as possible.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

It started to rain about an hour into their journey. Annie was asleep against the window as Margie looked around with wide eyes. She rarely traveled, Brain realized, but neither did her mother. Francine had taken few trips in her adult life, and now Brain realized that three of them were divorce trips, a way to break the news in a new environment. She liked that, ruining a different location instead of their home. Brain couldn't even think of Montana anymore without a cold sweat rolling down his back. He wondered how Buster could keep going back to Con every year after what she'd done, but he'd had much longer to heal than Brain, several more years.

Now it would be the new guy's turn, but at least they didn't have to worry about any of these strange trips with him. They hadn't had any children together, at least that Brain knew.

Thunder crashed and Brain decided to try the radio again. It had stopped working a few miles back and he'd turned it off. All they wanted to talk about were the evacuations, the impact coming, and related stories. Like Buster said, they occasionally mentioned the president was alright after an emergency landing, but they weren't the center of attention. This disaster, something that hadn't happened in a very long time, was far more important.

A station came through with a commercial for a local car lot. It ended with a loud noise that grated on Brain's ears, but Annie managed to stay asleep, as did Buster, Brain realized, as he noticed a similar position and sleeping style in his friend. Brain shook his head as the news came on again.

"This just in: NASA has moved the impact zone further west to a one hundred mile radius not far from the shores of the Carolinas. Officials say satellites from the orbit of Mars picked up on the shift and new calculations reflect this shift. The size has now been confirmed as three-and-a-half miles wide with an unknown girth. Scientists say there will be limited land impacts, though there are islands in the hundred-mile radius, but the displaced water will cause catastrophic coastal flooding. Evacuations are already in place as far west as the Mississippi River in the southeast—"

Brain cut off the radio again as the rain slackened up. He looked up into the rearview and saw that John was still following him. Unlike Buster, his passenger was wide awake beside him, their only son, Dave. Catherine had the girls in her car behind his, but Brain knew their backseat was still full, as they were in charge of the luggage for the girls and family. Now Brain had the bags for both girls, but he knew they had very little compared to them. Knowing Catherine, half the house was packed into their two cars, and she was probably gravely disappointed that the guys didn't bring anything more than a Spiderman bag and an emergency kit.

Hours passed slowly, but Brain knew that's how things were during a disaster. At first are those slow moments of waiting, waiting for what was to come and wondering what would happen next. That part, the "next," would happen so quickly that the memories would swarm together. You'd look back at those times and remember the strangest things.

Brain knew this from a colleague who'd been studying in northern California when a wildfire sprang up south of there. At first they waited, for two days total, as they waited for the fire to either spread or be controlled by officials. Despite advances in firefighting technology, the fire still spread closer and closer until they finally had no choice but to flee.

She told him all she could remember during those days of running, fleeing north before rushing back to see what was left, all she could remember was a yellow flower. Where was it? She couldn't tell him. What kind was it? She had no idea. All she knew was that yellow flower, burned into her mind, and she could remember nothing else.

Brain wondered what he'd remember as he realized they were getting closer to the Canadian border. The sky lightened up and the sun came out again as they reached it. Uniformed officers closely searched each car while Buster and Annie drooled on their windows. Finally Buster had no choice but to wake up—Brain's passport was handed over, but he too needed to give up an I.D. He obliged, smacking his lips as he came to.

"You're good. Follow the signs. You and the others in your party will go the eastern route," the soldier said, handing back their items.

They obeyed without protesting, though Brain wanted to demand why they were heading east. There were likely to be tsunamis wherever the Atlantic Ocean was, probably along every beach in the world as that displacement affected the Indian, Pacific, and Arctic Oceans. Canada had borders with three of the four oceans, and Brain knew going east would put them closer to one of them.

But "east" was just an expression. He realized they were going further north than the western camp, which broke off first. Then their path too took them west, and Brain felt himself ease up, especially when their destination came into view, a large fort.

It took a few more minutes to get into the fort because of searches, but soon they were inside. The three cars were assigned one small house, a structure made of concrete bricks that looked rather sterile on the outside. The inside was small, but it was warm and homely. It was cramped with so many people, but they were content. They felt they would be safe from whatever disaster may come.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

Francine was relieved to find out they'd made it to a safe place. She had extended her stay in California to visit Muffy in Los Angeles, but her soon-to-be-ex had flown east a day early, stopping in Austin to stay with his family to see the disaster through. He was unhappy, and Brain thought of calling him, but no one had called him after his divorce trip to see if he was okay.

Life at the fort was structured. Even though they, along with several hundred other people, were guests, they were expected to do things as the fort did. Meals were at set times, things were to be kept clean, and so on. Everything was laid out in a spiral-bound book with about seventy pages inside to accommodate English and Spanish. Brain wondered why they had both languages until a small plane landed on an airstrip close to them. Refugees from Central America landed and poured out, chattering in Spanish as they were led to their brick homes just a block over. They were being put in two or three families at a time, and Brain knew then he was only with Catherine, John, and the kids because they would've been together anyway. He wondered what would've happened if they hadn't caravanned together, or if someone had gotten between them, or if the traffic flow had been different, but he had to force the thoughts away. They were here now. That was all that mattered.

After eating dinner in a large mess hall, the group came back into the home and cleaned it carefully, not that there was much to clean up. Buster and John went upstairs with the kids to set up their cots. The adults were going to sleep downstairs and the kids upstairs, so the guys decided to help them make a pillow fort with what few things they had. Catherine didn't mind, but she and Brain decided to put their strengths into fixing up the tiny kitchen and dining area.

"I wonder if the Canadian Armed Forces are anything like the American ones. I've never been to any bases back home. Have you?" Catherine asked.

"Sometimes, but always as a guest. They teach classes on bases just like anywhere else. I've taught several, but it's different when you're a guest, and it depends on the size and how they run things. I was treated to lunch off-base, so I never saw their mess hall," Brain said, looking over the small house, "And the houses were newer too."

"In most places, I'd assume," Catherine said in a low voice. Brain nodded in agreement but said nothing. Catherine sighed and sank into a chair, "John thought of joining up after Max was born. I talked him out of it by insisting I get a job. I got hired on at a daycare so he could come with me, and we never discussed it again. I wonder sometimes what would've happened if that woman wasn't so flexible. I mean, she paid me under the table and kept me a secret. If she wasn't a bit Black Market-y, I think I'd be an Army wife by now. I probably wouldn't have the girls either."

"I think Max would like that," Brain smirked, pointing upstairs, "Do you really think he'll stay up there with the girls tonight?"

"We won't give him the choice. He loves his sisters, and the girls. That's why I wanted her to bring them to me for her trip. They needed to spend time together, and besides, I wanted them to stay for a while when she got back too. You're both too busy to keep kids indefinitely," Catherine said, standing and moving to the window, "She said she almost had a baby with him but she lost it. I tried joking with her about it, three kids, three ex's, but she didn't think it was funny. I just can't figure out why my sister was always so unhappy with everything."

"I've wondered the same thing. When Buster told me about their relationship, I understood. Most of our classmates divorced if they got married that young. It didn't bother me. She was older with me, and she seemed happy until that trip. Now she's done the same with him, and I just…I agree with you. Something has probably been bothering her all these years, but she must not want to tell anyone."

Catherine smiled, "No, she's told Bubby, I'm sure of it."

Brain gave her a look. Bubby passed away suddenly while they were still at Lakewood. She went in for a procedure and just didn't come out of it well. The doctors tried everything for days, but soon she was gone, and Francine took the death hard. He wondered if she still had doubts about her death until Catherine explained:

"Look, she knows Bubby is gone, but she had regrets. So did I. We both should've spent more time with her, but Mom and Dad lived and worked in Elwood City, and there was nothing we could do about that. We didn't mind then, or at least I didn't. I just accepted it, found solace in the necklace she left me.

"When she was twelve, I caught her. She would say she was going to Muffy's, which she would. But then Bailey would take them up to Bubby's hometown where she was buried. They'd spend the night in a hotel there with him, and my parents were furious. They were so mad that she didn't tell them how she felt, that she went to her best friend and her damn butler on a secret trip to see her. So they took her whenever she wanted, but she went on her own when she was old enough.

"I came home from college once and she made me go with her. She wanted me to tell Bubby what I was up to, and that's when it hit me. She knew that's where Bubby was. And while she did believe the stories about spirits being free from their bodies, she only felt Bubby was really hearing her when she spoke directly to her, her body that is. So yeah, she's told Bubby, but I don't know what she's said," Catherine whispered, peering out the window again. "My guess, if you're interested, is that she loved someone but something happened."

"The only person she was ever with before Buster was Arthur," Brain said, trying to remember those high school days. Francine got with Arthur halfway through sophomore year but dumped him towards the beginning of senior year, but he couldn't remember anything beyond that.

Catherine heard cries from upstairs and began to leave, but she turned and whispered, "I'd try to remember what you can, not that it matters. She's going to do what she wants when she wants. I just wanted you to know she's more fragile now. She'll probably be crazier for a while, especially over the girls. But we'll make sure she and the girls are okay. We always do."

Brain agreed as his eyes drifted outside. He wondered how things would look when the asteroid hit. He checked his phone and read the latest reports. The calculations were holding that the impact would be just off the coast of the Carolina's possibly as far south as the Georgia coast and as far north as Virginia's coast. But it wouldn't hit land, just the water and whatever islands it hit.

The timing was getting more accurate too. At first it was a general thirty-six hours, but now the number had been shifted. In eleven hours and a countdown of minutes and seconds, the asteroid would hit with an impact never before witnessed during recorded history. Finally science fiction would come to life, though Brain hoped he was just the protagonist in a fictional story that would have at least a semi-happy ending.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

Morning reverie was much earlier than Brain expected, but the kids didn't seem to mind getting up early, at least once they reached the mess hall. The morning menu was pretty decent for an army base, and Brain thought the pancakes they served actually used real eggs. Whether they did or not, Buster lapped them up and almost talked his daughter out of one of hers, but she cleverly fought him off like always.

When they were done, they decided to see if there was anything they could do to keep their minds off what was coming. Countdown clocks were ticking all over the base for the impact, which was estimated to hit around one p.m. Eastern Standard Time, and while the adults were easily looking away, Brain and the others caught the kids staring at them more than once. Even though none of them knew what the impact would mean, everyone was starting to get more nervous about what was coming, but there was nothing anyone could do. The base was busy taking in more evacuees, so the family was forced back to their little concrete house.

The kids went upstairs to play in their fort, running around and making more noise than any of the adults usually allowed. But it helped them drown out the sound of the radio, which Buster flipped on and put next to the stove. The adults sat with grim faces, their lips tightly pressed together as more reports confirmed what everyone already knew: The asteroid was coming, it would hit off the Carolina's, and cause tidal waves worldwide as the ocean absorbed the blow. It was bad for the coastal areas and many inland places that had low elevations, but everyone knew it was better than the alternative, the asteroid hitting land and killing people on impact.

Brain wondered what the college would be doing until he remembered the evacuation order covered them too. Elwood City wasn't very far from the Atlantic Ocean now that he really thought about it, and then he remembered the evacuations in the south where communities hundreds of miles inland were strongly suggested to leave. He wondered how many people actually were leaving when the report came in:

"National Guardsmen have been called in to evacuate areas where some residents have refused to leave. Law enforcement estimates there are at least forty thousand people across the United States who have refused to leave their homes. While the evacuation orders are not fully mandatory, officers suspect the areas where these residents remain could be heavily damaged after the event—"

Catherine sighed heavily and turned the radio off, "I just can't hear this anymore. I'm going to call Francine and see what they're doing out there. They should be evacuating L.A. too, right?" she asked.

Brain nodded, "If tidal waves are going to happen with the Atlantic Ocean, they'll spread across the world. Yeah, Los Angeles might be all the way on the other side of the world, but if the waves are big enough, California could still have problems."

John shook his head, "I wondered about that too. Why aren't they evacuating too?"

"Who knows? Who cares?" Catherine spat. "This is not how any of us wanted to spend our lives. Even if they were evacuating, I doubt Muffy would go anyway. She'd say they were fine where they are. She lives in that really nice house with a wall around it. They'll think everything is fine."

John cracked up, "Hey, at least we're not lucky Guy Number 3. I bet he's feeling real bad about himself right now too. He just got the boot and there's an asteroid that could destroy the house, not that he'd get it anyway."

"Yep, none of us ever got it before," Brain scoffed. Buster raised an eyebrow before nodding. He and Brain both ended up in apartments. Buster had at least moved since then, to another apartment with a spare bedroom for Annie. Brain was still in the same apartment, and whenever Margaret came over she just slept on his fold-out couch.

Catherine sighed, "It's really not funny though. Is he okay in Austin? Maybe I should call him too?"

"Yeah, there's nothing better than finding out the world is in danger, your wife doesn't love you, and her sister wants to see how you are out of the goodness of her heart. Let it go, Cath," John said, opening the refrigerator. He sighed as he studied the emptiness, "Forgot we weren't home for a second. I could really use a beer right now."

"It's nine in the morning!" Catherine hissed, storming into the living room to make that call to her sister.

"It's six in California! Don't wake her up!" John shouted back, sighing as he sank next to the other men at the table. "This is the craziest situation I've ever been in, and I've done some stuff in my time."

Buster leaned back in his chair, "Yeah, well, Brain and I have been reading sci-fi for a while."

Brain eyed Buster, "How did you know about my reading habits?"

"I've been to your office, to your house, just like you've been to my shop. You eye my inventory, and I eye yours. It's only fair. Besides, did you think I wouldn't notice? Why were you always into those apocalypse stories anyway? I only read them because they sounded cool, but what about you?"

"I took a disasters course in college. I just wanted to see how different authors covered various situations. This is a situation I've seen numerous times, but the way it's handled varied. The ocean impact scenario usually doesn't do much to people, but this one is different," Brain said.

John nodded, "Because it's happening so close to land, and because it's so large."

"Exactly," Brain agreed. "Otherwise it was land almost harmlessly, causing some waves on the coast. The panic would be more intense if things weren't the way they were. I read most of those books before the better technology came out, which means their writers didn't know either."

"But you read them," Buster smiled. Brain nodded as Catherine rushed back into the room and collapsed into the remaining chair with a heavy sigh. "What's up out west?" Buster asked.

Catherine groaned, "They're flying up here as soon as they can to get the girls. Francine just has to get her mom to mail her passport, but I told her to wait, and we argued. She wants to see her girls, I want her to stay safe and we'd get there eventually, but she's upset. Hopefully Muffy will talk some sense into her or something."

"Do you think the base would let the Crosswire private plane land here?" John asked.

Catherine shrugged, "I've seen plenty of others land out here. People keep pouring in. I think they've started to set up tents for people. I keep waiting for soldiers to barge in and make us put more people in here, but maybe we'll be lucky. I think things will be fine for us. We just have to wait this out."

"That what we've been talking about. We agree," John said. Buster and Brain nodded as the kids thumped around and squealed with laughter above them. Brain kept waiting on soldiers to burst in to shut them up, but maybe no one cared what they heard. As long as it wasn't an explosion as the world went black under a three-mile-wide asteroid, life was good.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

The kids were oblivious to the countdown the adults were listening to on the radio. They came down claiming to be bored around eleven in the morning, just over two hours before the asteroid was supposed to hit. Brain told them to rearrange the fort they'd made upstairs to turn it into a jungle. He and John even went upstairs and moved the beds, turning them upside down and sideways respectively, to give their playground a new feel. Then Brain told them to imagine they were tracking animals, any animals, and to pretend they were filming a nature documentary.

Soon Annie was the animals to keep things scientifically accurate (while Brain's daughter, Margarete could care less. How Buster's daughter had become more like Brain was beyond both of their comprehensions), and the kids were too out of it to realize what was about to happen.

But the adults knew exactly what was going on. The Coast Guard and Navy had been dispatched deep to the center of each ocean they covered in order to rescue people who needed it. There were over a thousand cargo ships still out at sea despite the various warnings, though all but one cruise liner was in port. The last remaining excursion was just off the Alaskan coast, so they weren't particularly worried about what was about to happen, but experts were torn. Many thought this would be a simple event—tidal waves along the Atlantic coast and higher surf everywhere else, but there were many more experts who were predicting the absolute worst.

But the part that drove the adults nuts as they sat around the dining room table listening to a staticy radio connection were the zealots coming out in radio ads, paid for by desperate people, that were demanding people get saved now or never because The End was coming. Brain scoffed at them at first, but then the adults felt they needed to discuss the issue full on.

"This happens every time, whether it's a prophesy or a prediction," John said firmly, "and they benefit every single time. I don't know if other religions have the same problem, but it always seems to be those silly Baptist preachers who always play to that fire and brimstone thing."

"I can assure you we've only had vigils after disasters, since this was the first one that was big enough to predict that was happening so close to home. I've talked to Mom online and she said they're meeting on Skype for a prayer, but no one has asked her for money from our synagogue, just donations to help out when this whole thing really starts," Catherine whispered.

"I see that the point has been made," Brain said, looking out the window as yet another plane landed on the strip. He wondered how many people were on base before getting back to the conversation, adding, "I think that's maybe their way of doing things, the fire and brimstone part, and all the 'get saved now' demands, but the money part is all greed."

Catherine nodded, "Yes, it's all greed, and it's sickening really. We only go around asking for money when we need it, and we do something in return. We don't beg for money so you can get closer to God or anything like that."

Buster tapped the table, "Brain, help me out on this, but isn't that where this whole Catholics VS Protestants thing got started?"

"You're right," John nodded as Brain remained focused on calculating the current fort population. John continued, "It was Martin Luther who pointed it out, and then people realized they had options, somewhat. Those were really dark times for people. Many of them wanted to be Protestant or Catholic or whatever they wanted, but the wars. They were just ridiculous. I can't believe it still comes up, and worst still, I can't believe the other side is doing what the original side did wrong in the first place."

Catherine smirked, "You always have to talk in circles, don't you?"

"Well it's the truth. Do you understand what I said?" John asked, turning to Buster, who nodded. John turned back to his wife, "Well, he understood."

"I'm not complaining. I really like it when you get all intellectual on me," Catherine grinned, her smile fading as the reports changed.

It was a countdown, but as they realized in this moment, they were off by about an hour. This was good news, Brain thought, because it meant the asteroid would hit even more off shore. But as reports started coming in from observatories, they began to realize that this thing, this impact, was really about to happen. Analysts who had maintained their composure up until now seemed to lose it as the asteroid appeared, becoming larger and larger as telescopes became binoculars for those few remaining people on the east coast.

The countdown was adjusted, but when they finally got down to "1…the asteroid made contact with The Earth," the adults sat in disbelief. Stunned silence filled the room as John flicked off the radio. The sound of the kids cackling and crashing around upstairs filled the house, a comforting sound.

They kept waiting for a large boom, shaking, or something to let them know what had happened, but they felt nothing. They had gone far enough north, far enough west, to avoid any of the events happening now.

Catherine turned on the radio. The tidal wave would be measured later, but the analysts knew it would be the largest in recorded history. New York City sustained heavy damage, and streets several miles inland were flooded, possibly washed away entirely in places. Water just kept flowing further and further inland. The lowlands of Mississippi, Louisiana, and other coastal areas were covered, smothered with water, and no one knew when it would recede, because it just kept getting higher and higher.

But there was no solid debris from the impact, just water, water shifting to accommodate the large mass that had flown into it at a speed that had yet to be determined. In coming hours, tidal waves would reach the western shores of Europe and Africa. England and the United Kingdom faced heavy damage, as did some of other areas in this zone. Next waves would break along other oceans, waves much taller than usual, but the oceans seemed to correct themselves. California and the rest of the Pacific faced only minor waves compared to the east coast, which was absolutely devastated.


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN—EPILOGUE

Francine rushed her children as Muffy stood behind them like a posh movie star. She wore large-rimmed sunglasses and a white sundress, complete with a large white sunhat. She looked ravishing compared to the bunch of refugees, who'd been wearing the same four outfits since everything began. They had access to laundry, of course, so the outfits were clean, but they had memorized them so completely that they were almost tired of looking at each other, though if they weren't seeing each other, that meant they would likely be dead.

Catherine and John got news first from their landlord, who had evacuated to France. Their building was a total loss because of flooding, and most of it was now floating in the ocean with the hundreds of other homes the tidal wave swallowed, tackling it both on the way in and the way out, as the water took over.

Buster, then Brain, discovered their homes also had flood damage, but theirs was standard damage. They would be able to return home in a week to begin the cleanup process, but both men knew their upper-floor units, once angering to their ex-wife, remained safe from the floods. Only Brain's office was at risk because it was on the second floor, but he would just have to take that risk.

Francine and her latest husband's house was in a lower part of town and sustained more damage, but he refused to deal with the situation. He remained heartbroken in Austin, Texas, refusing to help Francine with the cleanup. He'd let her other ex's take care of that, and she coldly let them take in the girls while she sorted everything out.

Eventually they returned home, flying on Muffy's private jet. Muffy had her parents take in Catherine, John, and their kids, a favor the Crosswire's didn't seem to mind (and their property was dry thanks to sandbags and pumps, so there was no cleanup for them to do), and Francine decided she would join them if they would have her, which they would. Eventually she found a new house outside of town and moved there with the girls. Buster and Brain would commute together, namely because Buster's car had been destroyed in the flood and he had yet to replace it, to see their daughters and spend time with them.

They were lucky compared to people in other parts of the United States. Ladonna and her family, who had all returned to their native Louisiana, were lucky to evacuate to the Midwest during the event. For nearly a month, water from the overflowed Gulf of Mexico covered their various properties, destroying them completely. The rebuilding process was difficult, one because insurance companies were overwhelmed, but also because the water never really left. New lakes formed in lower areas, freshwater lakes were contaminated with ocean water, and some areas just never really drained again, forming swamps. This happened in the east too, especially where the tidal wave managed to get water across the Appalachian Mountains. People in these areas were just stuck with the problem, so much so that many were forced to relocate.

Everyone admitted this was extremely lucky. If the countdown had been wrong the other way, meaning if the asteroid would've been forty-five minutes late instead of forty-five minutes early, the Carolinas and part of Virginia would be missing a huge chunk of land, a chunk of land that would've been turned to bits and sent into the atmosphere. The impact crater would be filled with water and covered up by the ocean, much as what happened when the Gulf of Mexico was formed.

Loss of life was thankfully minimal across America, and even places like the United Kingdom, where dykes were breached but things were mostly just soggy and hard to manage. In areas where evacuation had been impossible, the loss of life had been staggering, and it would take years for scientists to realize that over two million people had been killed in the event just in Central America alone, island nations not included.

Those areas faced tragedy too sickening to convey, but the world refused to forget those areas. Resources flooded in to help repair the areas, and the few that were able to escape returned to repopulate their homeland and start anew. It was their only choice, and they, like billions of other people, knew this was just one of those extremely rare situations, and while they got the short end of the stick now, at least the entire planet hadn't been wiped out by the impact.

~End

A/N: So I decided to go NextGen here to see what I could come up with. My Disasters series hadn't seen that yet, so I figured why not? I kinda made Francine a cold-hearted biatch, but, as Catherine and Brain discuss, I think she's just missing something important. What is she missing? Well, you figure it out.

My main focus here was the impact. I feel this last part was a bit cold, but I also didn't want to get into the people who would get slaughtered. It's hard to think about, even in this fictional scenario, because I've tried to stay true to science here. If an asteroid that size did strike the ocean, things would be bad for whoever was closest. Those the furthest away might not notice much of anything, aka Muffy and Francine didn't have to evacuate from the west coast, aka California, because they knew the oceans would adjust, making the extra waves smaller than where the impact freshly happened.

I hope this doesn't happen ever in my lifetime, but if it's going to happen, I hope we have technology like in this piece. If you recall, there are now satellites in the story orbiting our moon and Mars that help us see more. I hope this is the future because I feel like it would really help, especially if we could get one around a moon or planet past the asteroid belt. We'll just have to see what happens, I guess.

Keep your eye out for my next Disasters piece. I'm really on a roll with these things so why stop now? And please review. I would really appreciate it.


End file.
